The present invention relates to photographic flash equipment and, more particularly, to an attachment for a photographic flash device which will allow the flash device to be used in a "bounce flash" mode.
As is well known in the art of photography, there are occasions when it is desirable to illuminate a subject to be photographed with light that is reflected from a nearby surface. Most often, the nearby surface is a ceiling above the subject to be photographed so that in the photograph, the subject will appear to be illuminated primarily from above in a way characteristic of the natural lighting of the sun. It is also usually desirable to illuminate the subject directly from the flash equipment at the same time so as to eliminate or modify shadows which might develop from the downwardly directed illumination. The direct illumination of the subject is usually required to be soft or diffused light so that the "bounce flash" light from above is not washed and to give more natural appearance to the subject.
Photographers having flash equipment which is carried separately from the camera may accomplish the above "bounce flash" operation by pointing the flash equipment towards the ceiling above the subject. However, a large number of cameras are sold today in which the flash equipment is mounted directly on the camera, and the photographer cannot aim the flash equipment in a different direction than he aims the camera. This is true of the usual flash bulb or flash cube type of flash equipment as well as the "shoe mounted" electronic flash equipment. With this type of equipment, "bounce flash" photography has not been possible.
One attempt to provide "bounce flash" capability in such equipment was proposed by the assignee of the present invention in the form of a dome shaped member constructed of light diffusing material and adapted to be mounted over the usual flash apparatus. The dome shaped member had a hole in the upper portion and a mirror mounted in the lower portion and was to be operable to direct some of the light from the flash apparatus to the mirror where it was to be reflected out of the hole towards the ceiling. Light passing through the dome shaped member was to provide direct illumination while light passing through the hole was to provide a bounce flash off of the ceiling.
This prior art attempt proved to be impractical because the mirror mounted in the lower part of the dome shaped member blocked some of the light which was desired to pass directly through the dome and some of the light from the flash apparatus passed directly through the hole and produced irregular spotted or streaked illumination of the scene to be photographed.